To think that the ELC should realise that some nurses are male. And some doctors are female. And some men dance ballet. And some women engage in piracy on the high seas. Etc.

[missedith01]

"For the little princess in the family we have great feminine outfits like Butterfly Fairy, Sleeping Beauty, Ballerina and Nurse?s uniform. Why not add a medical case for that extra touch of authenticity.

The boys are catered for too, with great Doctor, Policeman & Fireman uniforms, not to mention fantastic Pirate and Knight costumes. All these can be combined with a range of accessories so your child will really look the part."

www.elc.co.uk/children%27s-dressing-up-outfits/5540,default,sc.html

Mothercare do often have nice plain stripy boys' T-shirts that look fab on DS, though. I get one most years (although rarely buy him anything else from there).

I think there's an opening here for some entrepreunerial (sp?) individual - selling exciting dressing up clothes for girls online - pirates, air pilots, builder.... hmmmm.

There is definitely an opening for someone to sell girls' dressing up clothes judging by these

www.a2z-kids.co.uk/category/fancy-dress-girls.html

and for the older girl

www.escapade.co.uk/

strewth!

Another try

There is definitely an opening for someone to sell girls' dressing up clothes judging by these

www.a2z-kids.co.uk/category/fancy-dress-girls.html

and for the older girl

www.escapade.co.uk/

strewth!

Good. Now I just need a bike shop with bike's in plain colours.

Not for any agenda - am just such a tightarse I want to hand-'em-down!

ELC changed the colours of the outdoor products because of customer demand. They wanted pink items but also wanted neutral ones, surely this goes in their favour and shows they are listening to customers, so they cant be all bad!!
It just shows that they cant win. They bring out pink/blue products due to people asking for them. Other people complain so they provide a compromise: pink and neutral rather than pink and blue. Is that not a good thing?

Argos is worse for gender stereotyping - haven't looked at the latest catalogue as tend to just go online, but I found last year when buying lego sets for Christmas they were listed as "boys' toys". A few years back my then 10-year-old DD was into K'Nex, and looked a little uncomfortable when she saw the Argos sticker on the end of the box with the catalogue number and "Boys' Toys" on it, as if maybe she shouldn't be wanting it.

Hate toys that are made pink for the sake of it eg the Fisher Price "perfectly pink".

I hope you don't mind me linking to my blog here but I wrote about this very same issue last week and asked ELC's PR dept for a statement which they provided.

My blog link is here

The ELC's statement was:

?Come down to Early learning Centre and see for yourself the huge range of toys in an assortment of colours. Customers can choose a red kitchen, a blue kitchen, a blue cash register, a yellow dolls house or a gorgeous farm

Our photography features boys ironing, girls playing with space aliens, boys playing with dolls, boys cooking and pushing buggies, girls building and playing with remote control insects. We offer anyone who wants to buy toys so much to choose from that no one should feel disappointed when they walk into our stores.'

YANBU.

So lovely to read so many messages that say so too. So sad that we're still fighting this battle in 2010.

Did anyone see the article in the Times Magazine recently based on Pink Brain, Blue Brain: How Small Differences Grow into Troublesome Gaps? and What We Can Do About It by Lise Eliot? She is a neuro-scientist I believe and her book challenges the perceived inherent differences between the brains of boys and girls.

Interesting stuff.

I would just like to direct everyone's attention here
it's expensive but awesome costumes, judge, pirate, suffragette

Apparently pink used to be a 'male colour'...

ELC don't give a damn.

I e-mailed them a few months ago pointing out their appalling sexism and they basically e-mailed back saying, we don't give a damn. Unlike Sainsbury's, whom, afer I e-mailed complaining about their sexist labelling or dr/nurse outfits, e-mailed me back saying yes, we got this wrong, e are changing it by Autumn 2010. Fair play to Sainsbury's.

Has anyone mentioned the FB campaign "ELC stop gender-stereotyping my children"?

ELC are full overpriced plasticky crap anyway. I wouldn't waste my time in there.

I love the fact that they offer both High Court Judge and Circuit Judge. Wouldn't do for children to only be able to dress up as one type of judge, after all...

I haven't had time to read the whole thread, but I'm a bit confused - is the quote in the OP a quote from the ELC catalogue? Because I can't see that wording, or anything like it, quoted on the website.

The pink vet outfit is pretty sexist - surely they would sell a lot more if they made it in a neutral colour?

I am a bit confused by the outfit for an architect. They don't really have a uniform, do they?

This afternoon (I looked at around 3pm or so), the quote in the OP was a quote from the ELC website, and could be found by clicking the link at the end of the OP. Somewhere over the last few hours ELC have updated that page so that it no longer says that.

I think it may also have been in the paper catalogue, but don't know.

no TheCrackFox apparently they're referencing le corbuisier though! I can't see elc referncing anyone but katie price at the mo'!

So they've updated the website then - at least that's progress of a sort. Now it says
"Our children?s costumes and outfits are perfect for fancy dress parties or for that all-important performance, be it at home or in the school play. Dressing up encourages your child to express themselves in a fun and educational way, serving to increase their long-term confidence."

I just cant wait for the new catalogue to come out so you lot can see it!!

Sorry, too busy laughing at that fancy dress company's blurb about the architect costume - a tribute to Le Corbusier, apparently!

I hope they include little steel-rimmed specs though. All architects have to wear those.

Ah Littlesilver, you have done what I hadn't quite got around to yet, after being astonished in Sainsbury's that the doctor's outfit was for a boy. I bought it for my DN anyway and took the label off. Given that her Mum, Dad, Uncle and Aunt are all doctors, I didn't think she'd fall for their labelling anyway! I have also managed to find a pirate costume specifically for a girl in some cheapo poundstretcher type shop.

Loving the two different types of judge on that website, but I think £12.50 for a white coat costume for a doctor is a bit steep... and LOL at the architect costume!

YANBU I completely agree, a lot of you are looking at this from a dd's point of view too, I have 3 ds's and hate the fact the sterotyping stretches to fancy dress parties/special occasions too. The end of pre school party was 'princesses and super heros' (pirates too politically sensitive) so the kids turn up and straight away the boys are racing round and the girls are sitting nicely being princesses, whats the point? why not have a 'princess and princes' party or all 'super heros' why do a lot of the boys costumes have to be action and leaping around? I hate the sterotyping 'boys play football, don't do as well at school or sit quitely' thats going on in schools

and far far too many dolls houses and furniture in pink, grrr

and if you want to try and get something else changed check out http://www.annabelkarmel.com/products/kids-cooking-sets annabel karmels extremely limited range. I emailed them about this when I wanted to buy my then 3.5 yr old some cooking stuff for Christmas (fuelled by cbeebies 'I can cook') and pretty much their whole range is pink and marketed 'Princess' range. The only unisex range is their sensonal christmas one so boys only cook for really special occasions?? and I though us women wanted a man that could help out around the house?!? really frustrating! The only response I got was they were bring out a unisex Easter range soon

i am so sad at the decline at ELC... for me it used to the toy shop that was quite fair in the girl/boy divide, i remember the dressing up used to be quite 'right on' and toys were wooden and undefined... however i have noticed in more recent years there is a definite girl/boy divide, with loads of pink and blue... e.g if there's a bubble machine... there has to be a pink and a blue!!! WTF is wrong with just having green/purple/yellow.... argh! and i've also noticed recently it's now very branded! it used to be just ELC ... but now it's all sorts dora the flippin explorer, charlie and lola, fisher price blah blah blah blah! most annoying...
rant over!
i think it'll just be John Lewis for me now!!!!

Am impressed that ELC have listened and are updating their catalogue and website. Zing, you should get a bonus for breaking the good news.